General News
13 February, 2026
Bridge to temporarily close
ALLANSFORD’S Ziegler Parade bridge will close for an estimated 12 weeks while major maintenance work is carried out.
The work forms part of Warrnambool City Council’s commitment to spend up to $400,000 to maintain the bridge up to the end of 2029.
The bridge will close to all traffic from Monday, February 23 and is expected to re-open in mid-May.
Significant work will be done on the underside of the deck and all structural components.
Warrnambool mayor Cr Ben Blain said that as the tallest (8.2m) and second-longest (51.6m) council-managed bridge in the municipality, the Ziegler Parade bridge is a substantial structure.
“Just about every part of the bridge other than the road surface needs major work,” he said.
“Repairing 25 columns, five crossheads (deck supports), 20 beams, 15 diaphragms (deck bracing), as well as sections of the underside of the deck, and the bluestone at the abutments and piers – it’s a very big job.
“The bridge really is approaching the end of its useable life, and that’s why we made the difficult decision to close it.
“It’s not a case of setting a closure date and leaving the bridge until then. The bridge needs significant maintenance to get to the end of 2029 and even then, it will be monitored closely along the way to make sure it doesn’t deteriorate to the point where it’s unsafe before then.
“Safety is always our number one priority, and this work will help keep the bridge operating for the immediate future.”
Cr Blain said that council was liaising with the state government to improve safe access to and from Allansford in preparation of the permanent Ziegler Parade bridge closure.
“We are continuing to work with the government to improve access to Allansford at Garabaldi Lane and Grauers Road,” he said.
“Once the bridge closes, these will be the main ways to access the highway, and we need to see the state government invest in these intersections.
“We had a strong response to a survey last year about the safety upgrades people wanted to see in place before the bridge eventually closes, and this is helping us to present a compelling case to the government.”
